Sensation seeking and pedestrian crossing compliance

Seventy-nine students were stopped by researchers after crossing a pedestrian crossing when the light was either green or red in conjunction with 4 different conditions: with or without the presence of a policeman and hurrying or not hurrying. Later, these participants were administered the Sensation Seeking Scale V (SSS; Zuckerman, 1994). No difference was found in the rate of pedestrians crossing against the red light either with or without the presence of a policeman. Among those who crossed against a red light there were more high than there were low sensation seekers. In addition, more males than females crossed against the red light disregarding the presence of the policeman. Interactions were found between gender and hurrying and between sensation seeking and stress of time in relation to crossing against a red light.